EVALUATION OF INSULIN-LIKE GROWTII FACTOR :1 !i;• BINDING PROTEIN-1 AS A PREDICTIVE MARKER OF INTRAUTERINE FETAL GROWTJI IN PREECLAMPSIA

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder unique to human pregnancy and is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It, together with other maternal vascular diseases, constitutes the most common denominator in the causation of fetal growth retardation.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II) are proteins with metabolic and growth promoting actions. They appear to be the most important growth hormones for the fetus during intrauterine life. In the blood and tissues, IGFs are associated with a group of six binding proteins (IGFBP-1 to 6). Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) regulates acute changes of serum IGFs ad additionally modulates the actions of IGFs at the cellular level. It plays an important role in insulin-carbohydrate metabolism and in the control of fetal growth.

In the light of this, our work aimed to investigate the circulating levels of IGFBP-1 in maternal serum in pregnancies complicated with preeclampsia and to assess its relationship with fetal birthweight.

This study was conducted on 33 preeclamptic patients not accompanied by intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), 34 preeclamptic patients accompanied by IUGR and 20 non­ preeclamptic control women. All women with preeclampsia and controls were primigravid. The study was done at the time of delivery.